Meet the Bombers' latest QBs of the future

It was midway through a conference call about quarterbacks, and Tim Burke was asked about going into a season with virtually no experience behind starter Buck Pierce.

“I know I’m talking to a bunch of Pulitzer Prize writers out there,” Burke began. “So I’m not going to try to B.S. you guys. There’s a little bit of a risk here.”

The no-B.S. approach is something to like about Burke, entering his first full season as head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

His new stable of quarterbacks, well, time will tell.

Having been beaten to the punch by the Edmonton Eskimos on former Lion Mike Reilly, and with little interest in recycling Kevin Glenn, being dangled by Calgary, the Bombers have dipped their toes into the pond of the unknown, where the careers of many a CFL coach have gone to drown.

Of course, counting on familiar faces Alex Brink and Joey Elliott to throw out a lifeline only left Burke gasping for air last season.

Brink joined Elliott in the unemployment line, Monday, and two new faces jumped into the boat.

Max Hall and Chase Clement sound like they could be secret agents on a bad TV series. Instead, they become the latest Air Apparents on a bad team that has a shaky history of looking for its Quarterback of the Future.

Snuck in and out of town for quiet workouts and steak dinners at 529 Wellington a couple weeks ago, Hall and Clement join the returning Justin Goltz in the rush to be No. 2, which in Winnipeg means being ready the moment Pierce serves up his latest injury-du-jour.

“You can stand pat, you can go out and acquire somebody with a lot of years on them to help you,” Burke said. “But sooner or later you’ve got to develop a young quarterback for your franchise. A guy who’s going to be able to take you all the way to the Grey Cup, and be there for years and years.”

There’s no arguing that line of thinking.

It’s hard, too, to disagree with the release of Brink and Elliott. Both had their chances, neither grabbed it and ran with it.

Hall and Clement come with solid college pedigrees, but plenty of unanswered questions as pros.

The news release on Hall boasts of his three NFL starts in 2010, including a victory over the then-defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

It makes no mention of the fact his Cardinals scored two defensive touchdowns in that game, or that Hall’s NFL stats include a 1-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 35.7 quarterback rating.

Clement’s pro experience is much harder to track, as the United Football League can’t seem to complete a season without going under.

Not even Burke could come up with Clement’s most recent results, saying he believed the guy was coming off a championship (he actually won the 2010 title).

“I’m not going to act like I know what the hell I’m talking about,” Burke said, finally. “I don’t know, to be honest with you.”

He was sure about this, though: Clement plays like a CFL quarterback.

“Chase reminds me a little bit of Buck when he was first coming into the league,” Burke said. “Also Darian Durant... and Travis Lulay. He can make a lot of plays with his feet. He’s kind of a gunslinger-type guy. And they both have great leadership qualities.”

Burke also revealed the Bombers will change their offence in an attempt to keep Pierce in one piece.

Fans may take that for what it’s worth.

“If they want to get their rosary beads out, that could help us a little bit, too,” Burke joked.

As for the man upstairs, GM Joe Mack, it’s fitting he was nowhere to be found, preferring to leave his head coach on his own.

We’ll find out soon enough if he’s thrown Burke a lifeline or an anchor.

- - -

One had all but decided to quit football, the other toiled in an obscure league that can’t seem to finish a season.

Meet Max Hall and Chase Clement, the latest curiosities to audition for the role as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ quarterback of the future.

The recent past doesn’t tell you much about either one.

After making the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals as a free agent and starting three games in 2010, Hall fell off the radar, deciding to finish his degree while coaching at Brigham Young University.

“I was getting near just moving on and going into a coaching career,” the 27-year-old Hall said, Monday.

That’s when a strange set of coincidences led to another shot.

Eight months earlier, Hall had run into Blue Bomber offensive co-ordinator Gary Crowton at a restaurant in Provost, Utah. Crowton had tried to recruit Hall out of high school when he was with BYU.

A few months later, the coach had another offer for him.

“The next time I talked to him was in January,” Hall said. “He asked me if I’d consider playing again.”

The only thing Hall knew of the CFL was what he’d learned from BYU’s new receivers coach, former Alouettes star Ben Cahoon.

At the end of March, the Bombers flew Hall into Winnipeg for a steak dinner at 529 Wellington, a tour of the new stadium and a workout.

“I loved everything about it,” Hall said of his visit. “After my visit, I really hoped these guys called me back. Because I’d really give anything to be part of what they’ve got going on.”

The Bombers offered contracts to Hall and the other quarterback in town that day.

Clement, 26, comes from the United Football League, which can’t complete a full season without going under.

That’s given the Rice University product a new appreciation for the CFL.

Three years ago, Clement bailed on the Tiger-Cats after one day of training camp, saying the three-down game wasn’t for him.

“My mentality now versus where I was a couple of years ago is so much different,” Clement said. “It’s exciting to get a chance to have six months of actual football.”

Due to the UFL’s foibles, Clement was forced to get off-season jobs. Last year, for example, he ran a restaurant, with no experience in the business.